Phantom: Covert Ops for Oculus VR combines stealth action with a kayak

VR Oculus game Phantom: Secret Operations has the most surprising secret ingredient of recent memory. It is a tactical stealth action game in which the player tries to prevent a total war by infiltrating an enemy base. And all this is played inside a kayak. A tactical kayak.

Phantom: Secret Operations is the union of two projects under development at nDreams, the British studio behind the VR tariff, as Fruity Shooty and Bloody Zombies. The studio, which made virtual reality versions of parachuting and hot air ballooning, worked separately on a kayak game and a stealth game. During this development, these two projects were brilliantly combined to form Phantom: Secret Operations.

I prefer my sitting virtual reality games, where I can concentrate and avoid the discomfort that comes with moving in virtual reality with total control of the camera. Phantom: Secret Operations keep me sitting while I play – remember: I'm kayaking – let me look around in the flooded military base in which I am infiltrating and allow me to focus on the controls of the game. Using both hands, I use a paddle to steer and move my Tactical Kayak one-on-one, paddle back and forth and spin with natural hand movements. Using the Oculus Quest motion controllers, I pilot my kayak as well as I can on a real canoe, that is to say … adequately.

My tactical kayak and I come heavily armed. A silent pistol is holster on my chest. A sniper rifle is on my right. I can put away my paddle to draw my gun and throw projectors that could help the enemies to spot me. Or I can shoot with a fire extinguisher to cause distraction, or an explosive red barrel to cause destruction and death. I also have explosive charges that I can launch and blow up with the help of a detonator.

nDreams / Oculus VR

But this is a stealth game and non-lethal options abound. I can discreetly steer my kayak around searchlights, shelter in pockets of reeds, hide under platforms and open unsupervised roads to avoid enemies.

As in many stealth games, things quickly become dangerous if you are spotted, and finding a safe space can be difficult. It may be a tactical kayak, but it behaves like a boat; he will not turn on a dime. I died frequently when I ventured into the enemy's line of sight, but the checkpoints were fair and frequent.

In short, this is a stealthy military VR game that works, thanks to its kayak component (frankly delicious and, of course, almost absurd). It is cleverly designed to adapt an existing game genre to virtual reality, while taking advantage of the immersive qualities of virtual reality, where the fear of being spotted by enemy soldiers is greatly increased.

Phantom: Secret Operations should be launched in 2019 for Oculus Quest and Rift.